Flexible Work Arrangements: Fixed Schedules

Fixed Schedules are useful when department and employee needs are highly predictable and inflexible.

Examples:

• An employee always drops off his child at school at the same time each morning, and goes directly from there to work.
• An employee is in a vanpool that meets at the same time each day.
• The department opens to the public at a certain hour, and the employee, as the department's only receptionist, must be present to greet callers.

Other considerations:

• Most employees tend to settle into fixed schedules, because routines generally make life simpler.
• Communication is generally easiest when schedules are fixed.
• Although 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. has historically been the standard schedule at the University, minor variations (such as 7:30 to 4:30, or 8:30 to 5:00 with a half hour for lunch) are often easy for departments to accomodate, yet can make a tremendous difference in an employee's morale.
• Because the world seems to be divided between early birds and night owls, for every employee who wants an early schedule, there is likely to be another person in the unit who prefers to be on a late schedule. By coordinating their schedules, the department may be able to assure continuous coverage, and may even be able to extend service hours.
• Fixed alternate schedules can be very useful in helping employees form car- and van-pools, thus helping the campus to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and minimize parking problems.